Soon after the Romans invaded Britain in AD 43, a small pottery factory was set up in what is now part of Highgate Wood. Pottery was made here intermittently over the next hundred years.

In 1962 an archaeologist Tony Brown found evidence of Roman activity in Highgate Wood. In a series of annual excavations following the discovery, Tony and his colleague Harvey Sheldon, with numerous volunteers, uncovered the remains of ten kilns and masses of pottery dating to between about AD50 and AD160.

Kiln 2, one of the most complete Roman kilns ever found in the United Kingdom, was lifted out of the ground in 1968 for conservation and exhibition. Sadly, the kiln is now in pieces in storage in Bruce Castle Museum, Tottenham, where the public cannot see it.

A charity called the Friends of Highgate Roman Kiln has been formed to conserve and rebuild Kiln 2 and exhibit it in an indoor space in Highgate Wood where it can be enjoyed by everyone.